Interview with Lauretta Black Pierce of LBP Enterprises

Tell us a bit about LBP Enterprises.

LBP Enterprises was established in 1996 to market Children Personalized Books at craft shows, recreational centers, churches, and schools. After attending an African American Book Club Summit cruise in 2000 and meeting many authors, I decided after my continued interaction with them to design a literary site to increase their online presence. The Literary World website was created in 2002.

From 2000 to 2003, LBP Enterprises provided pro-bono marketing services to aspiring and established authors. The company officially became a Publicity/Marketing Agency and Website Development service in 2004.

What services do you provide for authors?


We provide authors with online promotions, we schedule book signings, we survey bookstores to see if they are carrying the author’s books, we inform the online community of authors’ upcoming events, we mail postcards and books to our subscribers, and for some authors we design their websites.

Where can people find out more about you and your services?

People can find more about me and LBP Enterprises’ services at lbp-enterprises.com

You've attended and/or participated in many conferences including Book Expo America (BEA), EPICon Award Conference and Romance Writers of American to name a few. How important do you think it is for writers to take part in these events?

The importance of taking part in any of the events depends upon a writer’s needs.

Book Expo of America (BEA) is an annual event where publishing companies around the world come together to host conferences and workshops. This is an ideal place for authors to meet agents and editors, to interact with people that read their books, and to meet other authors.

The Electronically Published Internet Connection (EPIC) is another annual event whose members consist of authors, publishers, and other professionals in the literary industry that come together to provide various workshops and conferences that center around the latest in e-book marketing. This event also hosts an outstanding EPPIE Awards Ceremony that rewards individuals for their outstanding works in various categories.

Romance Writers of America (RWA) is focused around published and aspiring romance writers. Its’ annual event hosts conferences and workshops. This event provides upcoming authors an opportunity to meet with various publishers, agents, and editor. The highlight of this event is their awards ceremonies.

Authors at Sea, which is hosted by Levy’s Publishing Company, is another outstanding event for avid readers to get up close and personal with New York Times and USA Best-selling Authors. Various events are hosted by the authors that include anything from exercise classes to knitting classes. The authors also host excursions and alternate tables nightly at dinner to interact with the readers.

What is the most important piece of advice that you give to your authors?


The most important advice that I can give to any author is to ask questions of their publisher, editor, agent, publicist, or whomever they are networking with. When it comes to their writing career, it is important that they do their homework and know every aspect of the business before they rush out and settle with anyone who talks a good game.

Anything else you'd like to add?

This is a new experience for me. I normally am the interviewer, not the interviewee. It has been an honor to be interviewed by you.

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